In a February 3 Inside Search blog post titled "search quality highlights" Google shared 17 new quality improvements made to Google.com (along with their associated codenames) in January last month. Here is the list of the improvements: Fresher results [launch codename "nftc"] Google says they have made several adjustments to the freshness algorithm that was […]

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In a February 3 Inside Search blog post titled "search quality highlights" Google shared 17 new quality improvements made to Google.com (along with their associated codenames) in January last month. Here is the list of the improvements:

Fresher results [launch codename "nftc"] Google says they have made several adjustments to the freshness algorithm that was released in November bringing in more fresher results.

Autocomplete spelling corrections [launch codename "Trivial", project codename "Suggest"] -- an "improvement to the spelling corrections used in autocomplete, making those corrections more consistent with the spelling corrections used in search." This launch targets corrections where the spelling change is very small, informed Googled.

Better spelling corrections for rare queries - Change improves one of the models that uses to make spelling corrections, and now displays more accurate spell corrections for a number of rare queries.

Improve detection of recurrent event pages [launch codename "neseda"] - Changes made to improve how Google determine the date of a document. As a result, you'll see fresher, more timely results, particularly for pages discussing recurring events.

High-quality sites algorithm improvements [launch codenames "PPtl" and "Stitch", project codename "Panda"] Launched on February 25, 2011, Panda algorithm, "improvement are now made how Panda interacts with indexing and ranking systems, making it more integrated into our pipelines," Google informed. Also a minor update to refresh the data for Panda is released.

Cross-language refinements [launch codename Xiangfan] Previously, related searches based on the display language were generated, now Google also attempt to auto-detect the language of the original query to generate related search queries. Now, a user typing a query in French might see French query refinements, even if her language is set to English.

English on Google Saudi Arabia: Users in Saudi Arabia can now more easily choose an English interface to search on google.com.sa.

Improved scrolling for Image Search: Google changed the scrolling behavior to make it consistent with main search results and the other search modes, where scrolling moves the entire page as opposed to previously when you "scrolled in Image Search, only the image results would move while the top and side menus were pinned in place."

More relevant related searches: Google updated the model for generating related searches resulting in more useful query refinements. Releated search queries are displayed at the bottom of the screen under a section called "Searches related to."

Blending of news results [launch codename "final-destination", project codename "Universal Search"] - New improved algorithm now decides which queries should show news results, making it more responsive to realtime trends. Google says they also made an adjustment to how they blend news results in Universal Search. Both of these changes help news articles appear in your search results when they are relevant.

Automatically disable Google Instant based on computer speed [project codename "Psychic Search"] - Previously, Google Instant was able to automatically turn itself off on a slow internet connection. Now Google Instant can also turn itself off if a slow computer is detected. "If Instant gets automatically disabled, we continue to check your computer speed and will re-enable Instant if your performance improves," informed Google. Google said they have also tweaked search preferences so you can always have Instant on or off, or have it change automatically.

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Deepak Gupta is a IT & Web Consultant. He is the founder and CEO of diTii.com & DIT Technologies, where he’s engaged in providing Technology Consultancy, Design and Development of Desktop, Web and Mobile applications using various tools and softwares. Sign-up for the Email for daily updates. Google+ Profile.